"So...what's in it for me?" A deep voice asks curiously when he receives a bag of strange gadgets.

"Isn't it obvious? You get revenge on the mutants you despise so much." A woman's voice replies. At this, the burly man smiles.

"Soon, the world will be rid of those monsters."

~~~~

"Yuri-unnie. You know what day it is soon, right?" A tall young girl asks.

"I don't know, Wonyoung. I have a lot of things coming up, so there hasn't been much time to think." The aforementioned girl replies, feigning ignorance. Yuri had just been taking a walk around campus before having to go to her schedule at night when her youngest friend called her attention.

"Yah, unnie. I've been hinting at it all month!" The maknae complains, much to the amusement of Yuri.

"I was just kidding! It's your birthday in a week. Jeez, do you think I'd forget the birthday of our precious maknae?" The short-haired girl says with a laugh, playfully pinching the younger girl's cheeks.

"Why do you ask though? Do you want an expensive gift just because my album went platinum?"

"Ugh, unnie, it isn't like that. My birthday coming up means Yujin-unnie's is coming up, and I'm wondering what to prepare for her." Wonyoung says with a cute pout. Now that she and Yujin were officially together, that would make this upcoming birthday very important. Cash wouldn't suffice as a gift this time.

"Isn't this something you should be asking Yena? She's much closer with Yujin than me." Yuri replies.

"I would, but I can't seem to find her anywhere! Besides, Yujin-unnie being similar to Yena-unnie means you should have a good guess on what her interests are." Wonyoung argues which gets the pop star thinking.

"Hmm, well, I do know they both like to play games. Sometimes, I wonder if Yena enjoys goofing with Yujin more than she does hanging out with me." Yuri jokes. "Aside from that, maybe some sports equipment? Listen, I think as long as it comes from the heart, Yujin will love it."

"Thanks, unnie. I'm just a bit nervous because I'm not good at picking out gifts for others." The bunny replied with a nod. Overthinking it would probably just make things worse.

"I can drop you off at the mall later on my way back to Seoul if you want. If you can't find anything that catches your fancy, you could also just try to make something from scratch. There's still a lot of time." Yuri says.

"Okay, I'll go get my things and meet you at the campus exit." Wonyoung then quickly turns and runs off back to the dorms, leaving Yuri to her own thoughts.

"Hmm, come to think of it, where is Yena-unnie?"

~~~~

"Yah, Yujin, can you explain why you dragged me all the way here? These clothes aren't even your style!" Yena quacks at her younger friend when the duo had arrived in front of a Miu Miu fashion store.

"Okay, I know I said I wanted to play at the arcade, but you wouldn't have come otherwise! You do know what day it is in a week, right?" Yujin barks back.

"Uh, Saturday?" The duck replies in confusion, causing the puppy to facepalm.

"Yes, which means it's going to be Wonyoung's birthday! I want to get something special for her since it's our first birthday as a couple." Yujin says, causing Yena's eyes to widen.

"Ohh, so you want my help in buying her a gift?" At this, Yujin nods and pulls Yena into the store.

~~~~

10 minutes later...

"I don't think any of these clothes are in our price range..." Yena eventually says after looking through a bunch of items. Even the handbags were worth a fortune.

"Ugh, I should've gotten back into the commercial industry. I didn't think these things were going to be that expensive." Yujin replies with a dejected sigh as she walks out of the store empty-handed.

"Don't sweat it, Yuj. I'm sure she'll be happy with anything you get her as long as she knows it's from you." The older girl says, putting a hand around her shoulders.

"Thanks, unnie. Do you still want to hit the arcade?" The puppy asks, feeling guilty for bringing Yena out here for nothing, but at that moment, the older girl's phone dings.

"Sorry, Yujin. Yuri just texted saying she was back in Seoul for a schedule, so I'm gonna go meet her."

"Yah, it's not like she's paying you to be her bodyguard. You can be a bit late." Yujin argues.

"Hey, I'm pretty popular with her fans too, you know? I'd hate to keep them waiting." Yena replies with a laugh, referencing her busking with Yuri a couple months ago that caused her to go viral. The younger girl could only roll her eyes and cause the sprinkler system above to drop a couple ounces of water on the duck.

"Alright, Sparky. Hope you have fun then. I'll stick around here and search for a bit longer." Yujin teases, knowing the older girl hated that nickname.

"Okay, you got me. I'll see you later." Yena says with a smile as she wipes her hair, giving her friend a supportive hi-five before going and looking for her car.

~~~~

"Hmm, maybe a birthday card? No, too simple." Yujin mumbles to herself as she walks through a stationery store, considering creating a hand-made gift for her girlfriend. She didn't just want to get Wonyoung anything for her birthday. It had to be up to the younger girl's usual standards. As these thoughts were swirling in her head, Yujin began to lose track of her surroundings and eventually bumped heads with someone reaching for the same colored paper as her.

"Yah, watch where you're- Yujin-unnie?" A startled voice says, and when Yujin regains her bearings, she sees Wonyoung in front of her.

"Wonnie??? What're you doing here?" Yujin asks, equally surprised.

"I could be asking you the same question." Wonyoung replies, rubbing her head.

"I-I was just here to buy some paper for some school work. You know how Yoon-jeong sunbaenim is with deadlines." The older girl says quickly, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Isn't there paper in the campus storage room?"

"Did I say for school? I meant origami! I've been pretty interested in it these days." Yujin can only mentally slap herself for the nonsense she was saying, but Wonyoung just giggles.

"Alright, alright, I won't pry as long as you don't ask me what I'm doing here. Deal?" The bunny then extends her hand, the puppy shaking it in response, but not letting go.

"So...wanna grab some dinner?" Yujin asks nonchalantly.

"Sure! I'll buy." And with that, the duo head off hand-in-hand.

~~~~

1 hour later...

"Ahh, that really hit the spot. You really know your restaurants, Wonyoungie." The puppy says energetically as they exited the mall. The younger girl had taken them to a fancy Japanese place that sold the best tonkatsu Yujin had ever tasted.

"I'm glad you liked it! Getting seats there on short notice isn't easy, you know? That place has some expensive bookings." Wonyoung replies. Ever since the events on Jeju island, she'd been allowed to communicate more frequently with her father which meant extra pocket money she could spend for her friends. At the mention of the price of dinner though, Yujin's smile falters.

"Actually, Wonnie, next time, maybe I can buy dinner. It wouldn't be fair for you to always treat me." The puppy says quietly.

"Nonsense, I want to give you the best!" The younger girl says cheerfully, still not realizing the shift in Yujin's tone until she speaks again.

"Wonyoung, I want to give you the best too. I'm supposed to be the older one, but I've never been able to treat you to anything." She says, letting go of her girlfriend's hand and avoiding eye contact. Wonyoung was stunned by Yujin's sudden words. Was she making the older girl feel small whenever they went on dates? It was natural for her to treat the people closest to her heart, but she hadn't considered that they might want to do the same for her in return.

"Was she at the mall today looking for a birthday gift for me?" The bunny thinks before reaching out and grabbing Yujin's shoulder.

"Hey, unnie, it's okay. Look at me. I know you love me a lot. You don't have to treat me to meals to prove that, but we can eat wherever you want next time if that's what you want." She says softly, her girlfriend's short hair. That definitely made Yujin feel a lot better, but before she could respond, a loud scream filled the air. It was definitely a young woman by the sound of it, and it was coming from a high school nearby.

"Huh? What was that? People aren't usually in school this late." Yujin says, her composure immediately returning. Her internal danger instincts were starting to ring, and if someone was in trouble, she wanted to help. "C'mon, Wonnie."

~~~~

The front gate may have been locked, but it wasn't a problem as Wonyoung just levitated herself and Yujin over. The sounds of screaming continued from behind the school, and as they got closer, they began to hear the sound of metal clanging on the ground.

"Yah, who's there?" Yujin asks in her loudest voice as they turn a corner. At this, the commotion comes to an abrupt stop. By the time the two arrived at the scene, there was no one there. As they looked around though, it was clear there were signs of a struggle. Bricks and metal pipes were strewn across the ground, but it was the condition they were in that caught Wonyoung's attention.

"Yujin-unnie, look at this." She says, holding up one of the pipes that appeared to be corroded compared to the pile of them stacked by the school wall.

"Whoever was just here..." Yujin begins to say.

"Was a mutant." Wonyoung finishes.

~~~~

"If whoever was there was from that high school, they must be around our age, right?" Wonyoung asks as the two settle back in their dorm room. They tried searching through the area more, but ultimately came up empty-handed.

"Yeah, we still don't even know if the perpetrator was the mutant or not though." Yujin says quietly while looking through some recent news headlines in the area for anything suspicious. The air between the two still felt a bit awkward due to the conversation earlier. Yujin though was admittedly a bit embarrassed from her episode, so she was relieved at having something to do to not think about it. Relationship problems could wait.

"You're right. Should we consult with Eunbi-unnie?"

"She's already pretty busy right now. I think we should assess the situation ourselves first before we decide if we need the others' help or not." Wonyoung nods at this and begins searching for clues online as well.

~~~~

"Hmm? I think I found something, Yujin-unnie." The younger girl says. So far, they've managed to find some missing persons reports from the area, but there weren't that many clear connections. That was until Wonyoung had stumbled upon an interesting article.

"What is it?" Yujin replies as she walks over. Wonyoung then moves to show her laptop screen: Rally at Cheongdam High school due to mutant-student. The two slowly begin going through the article. There had been a high school senior named Kim Gaeul who appeared to have the ability to age objects she came into contact with. Parents had begun complaining that she be expelled because of the danger she posed despite wearing gloves most of the time. There were also calls for her to move to a mutant facility, but most of them were still transitioning into educational establishments.

"That ability might explain the corroded metal. Someone must've attacked her after school and taken her away." Wonyoung says after getting to the end of the article.

"We need to find her before something bad happens to her. Can't people just mind their own business? I thought people had started changing their minds about us." Yujin says, clearly miffed about the situation. As someone who would be going to a normal high school without her powers, she felt sympathy for the girl who was just trying to get by.

"Where do we even start though? She could be anywhere by now. Are you sure you don't want to ask Eunbi-unnie yet?" Wonyoung asks, but Yujin shakes her head.

"Let's keep this off the record first. We can start by visiting the school tomorrow morning and asking some students if they know anything." The older girl says. This mission had suddenly felt personal for her, and she didn't want to call on backup unless absolutely necessary.

"Okay, unnie. I trust you. Let's get some rest now then." The puppy nods and begins getting ready for bed. Before Wonyoung turns off her laptop, she takes one more look at the picture of the short-haired girl from the article.

"I hope you're okay wherever you are Kim Gaeul-ssi." She thinks.

A/N: Hello and welcome to the Annyeongz story: Venator! I'm looking forward to writing this story because I'm introducing new characters, one of which is already mentioned here- Gaeul. Now, I will preface now that I usually just listen to IVE songs and only know things about them from twitter and researching their kprofiles, so please forgive me if I don't get their personalities completely right (though I promise I'll try). Just always remember that this is a fanfic at the end of the day.

Anyways, thank you again to all the readers whether old or new! If you only found this story now, I advise going through the first two books to understand some of the context and references. 

Thanks for the likes, comments, and support! If you want to reach me or see some progress updates, my twitter is @ TofuBeagle22! I'll see y'all in the next chapter! Have a good day!